The Guide Michelin has been around for over a century, and its famous three star rating system for restaurants has been copied over and over again. One star means "A very good restaurant in its category", two stars means "Excellent cooking, worth a detour", and three stars proclaim "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." I think wine stores fit very nicely in this hierarchy as well, and I recently discovered one that is worth a special journey. Yes! A three star wine store.

The Kempisch Wijnhuis, in Turnhout, Belgium and just the kind of store that is worthy of a special journey. Owned and run by the charming Lutgard Pigmans, she has compiled a delicious selection of wines from around Europe but with a special affinity for the wines of the Rhone valley and the South of France. In the coming weeks I will be posting on some ofthe treasures she imports into Belgium but for now let's focus on her service.

I discovered the store last year at a local wine fair and it was her pouring of the superb Rhones from Domaine Remejeanne Rhones that got my attention. (Remejeanne was first introduced to me by David Raines of Gordon's Wines in Waltham, MA, USA. Another store worthy of three toques). For some reason, anyway, it took me several months to drive the 20 km up to the store from my home.

One Spring day I did make the drive and I took my friend Stephane who was visiting from Paris. The store lies at the end of a dirt road and shares space with the owners home residence. When you ring the door bell, you will be greeted by, I presume, Lutgard's mother, a shy but welcoming Flemmish women who speaks only that. She invites you in, takes you around the corner, down a short hallway to a tiny room that makes up the store. I swear the strore can't be any larger than 300 sq feet, but in this space lie beautiful wines that a Rhone and langudoc lover would drool over.

Our quick drive up the store (or so we told our wives) ended up being 2.5 hour excursion. Stephane and I got lost going over her selection, discussing her favorites and listening to the stories she had to tell about each of her pet vignerons. It actually felt more like speakinig to the vigneron than to a merchant. We didn't simply shop for wine, but lived the entire experience with a merchant who is extremely passionate about her wines. In the end we picked up a few cases , and for our trouble she added a bottle of Bandol as a gift. It was so satisfying, and the wines we drunk were as well.

Fast forward a few months to this week when Stephane made another trip up from Paris. Ostensibly to visit friends in Belgium, but I suspect the alterior motive was to pay another visit to the Kempische Wijnhuis. As Monday was sandwiched between Sunday and a State holiday, I called ahead to see if they would be open. At first, she apologetically explained that they were only open Thurs-Sat (oh, the life!), but once she remembered who I was (bad French accent gave me away), she offered to open the store for us. Talk about service!!

As with previous visit, a short trip to the wine shop extended well beyond what a level-headed person could bare, and we again left with a few cases PLUS a bottle as a gift for us stopping by!

Any wine shop can have a stellar selection, but to combine that with great prices and great service, now you are talking about a rare beast. So as for the details of her selection, click on her web site and scan through the catalogue, I know it will impress you (even if you can't read Dutch). As for what's in the bottle, stay tuned as I plan to post my tasting notes from the small sampling I bought.

This is a wonderful shop with an enthusiastic host who loves her work, and one that more wine amateurs should know about. As evidenced by my Parisian friend Stephane, it is a shop worth a "special journey".